MFC6044 - Advanced Documentary Production

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the history of the development of the documentary genre and its perceived role in Western society;

Devise, plan and produce a documentary;

Work effectively within a team to meet deadlines and utilise resources effectively;

Critically evaluate the process and the finished product.

Content:

In this module, students will have an opportunity to build on the editorial and technical skills learned on previous modules, in order to devise, research and produce a ten-minute documentary film, for their career portfolio.

Sessions will provide a theoretical understanding of the nature and role of documentaries and an insight into the impact they can have, as well as practical aspects of contemporary documentary production - such as devising and researching programme ideas, finding key contributors the preparation and execution of single-camera location filming and story-telling in the editing process.

It will culminate in an intensive period of self-directed team-based production, during which students will create a ten-minute documentary film to a professional quality (together with a "legal binder" of industry-standard production documents).

They will also supply an individual critical analysis of the finished film, their individual role in it, what they learned and how they would improve their performance in the future.

Learning and Teaching Information:

This module involves a number of set lecture/workshop sessions and a high level of independent study/work, which will be supported by the module coordinator and module tutors. Regular progress meetings will be scheduled throughout the course of the module.

Lectures/tutorials/workshops will be based on refreshing students' existing knowledge with regard to the fundamentals of story-telling, camera work, lighting and editing/post-production; these sessions will also include more advanced techniques, including various editing techniques/styles and the use of motion graphics.

The module is to be delivered as a year-long module as this will give students sufficient time to develop and sound out their ideas, adhering to common professional practice.


Lectures
Hours: 22
Intended Group Size: 30


Tutorials
Hours: 12
Intended Group Size: 3-4


Guided independent study
Hours: 366

Further details relating to assessment

The two assessments to be delivered at the end of Semester 2 will consist of:
1) A group-produced, ten-minute documentary film - made to conform to the requirements of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code - to be filmed, edited, colour-graded and audio-mixed prior to submission, together with a "Legal Binder" containing all necessary industry-standard production paperwork (including risk assessments, call-sheets, location and personal consent forms and a "programme as submitted" form). This body of work will be a collection of the necessary textual and logistical materials necessary for broadcast-ready documentary production. This will receive a group mark, but will be subject to a peer assessment of the production process (under which individual students may receive a reduction of up to 10% of the mark) and to the module co-ordinator's decision that a sufficient individual contribution has been made;

2) An individually-produced 2,000-word critical evaluation of the finished film and the student's assessment of their own contribution to it.

Visiting students may be permitted to take a half-module in Semester One for the award of twenty credits. They will be assessed on a 1 x 2,000-word report, in which they would need to demonstrate how and why they would create and develop a documentary idea, writing a detailed account, spelling out how the production would be planned and executed, including a description of the film, narrative and target audience.

Visiting students may also be permitted to take a half-module for the award of twenty credits in Semester Two. They will be assessed on:
- their role in the production of the group film (some of the pre-production work having been done in Semester One), together with a "Legal Binder" of completed production paperwork - worth 65% of the total marks awarded;
- an individually-produced 1,000-word critical evaluation - worth 35% of the marks awarded.

Assessment:

001 Artefact; 10mins; during semester 2 65%
002 Report & portfolio; 2,000 words; end of semester 2 35%
200 Report; 2,000 words; end of semester 1 100%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Stefano Odorico
Level - 6
Credit Value - 40
Pre-Requisites - MFC5042 OR MFC5202
Semester(s) Offered - 6YL

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